Type 1 Diabetes
Natasha Wang 10W
What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body’s immune system attacks insulin producing cells, which is in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that helps to regulate blood sugar levels by turning food into energy. This leads to not enough insulin in the body, and the blood sugar levels will not be able to be controlled. The body might not be able to detect there is too much or too little sugar in the blood and cause serious problems.
What is the cause of Type 1 Diabetes?
Sugar levels can also be affected by exercise, stress, climate, time of day and many other factors, making it difficult to judge the amount of insulin needed, which can sometimes lead to blood sugar levels rising too high (going hyper) or dropping too low (going hypo), and would lead to type 1 diabetes. It might also be because of genes, but till now doctors don't have a precise answer. It could happen to anyone.
What effect does Type 1 Diabetes have?
If someone has type one diabetes, the symptoms are that they would be very thirsty and tired all the time. They would be passing lots of urine, tummy pain leading to losing weight. It makes the person feeling generally unwell. The person would develop deep rapid breathing, dry skin and mouth, flushed face. They would have nausea and would vomit and have a fruity breath odour.
How is Type 1 Diabetes treated?
To survive, people with Type 1 diabetes need to take daily insulin injections or use an insulin pump to attempt to keep their blood sugar levels within the healthy range. They would need to follow a strict healthy eating plan, counting their intake of sugar and making sure the sugar levels by testing their blood sugar level 4-6 times a day. Doing physical activities on a regular basis also helps. And the most important is to have regular medical check-ups to make sure everything is going well.